Editors' Notebook

The Future of Ag and Food

Greg D Horstmeier
By  Greg D Horstmeier , DTN Editor-in-Chief
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Progressive Farmer takes a hard look at The Future of Food. (Getty Images, DTN/Progressive Farmer photo illustration by Barry Falkner)

Feeding an ever-growing world has been given a lot of consideration for the past 20 or so years. Since the turn of the century and the prognosis that by 2050 the world would have as many as 9 billion mouths to feed, a lot of companies have come and gone, a lot of theories launched and tested. Here we are, almost halfway to 2050 from that millennial turn. How are we doing in that quest to feed the world?

The April issue of Progressive Farmer takes a deep dive into that, and we're also sharing that look on our various online and satellite platforms. The kickoff story of that package, written by DTN/Progressive Farmer Associate Content Editor Elaine Shein, is here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

You'll find ongoing features under the banner of "The Future of Food" throughout the next couple of weeks. The stories are a look at the promise, and the reality, of what food production needs to be, could be, and the challenges we still need to overcome.

A second piece, also from Shein, looks at how the war in Ukraine is having a current, and future, effect on global food production. That piece can be found here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

If you miss any of the pieces, the full online issue can also be found in our Magazine section here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Of course, you can also experience the full set of stories, and experience all the charts and graphics that accompany them, from the pages of the April issue. If you're not a subscriber, you can fix that by going here: https://w1.buysub.com/….

It's certainly handy to find and read these and all our coverage of agriculture on our various digital platforms. Yet a package such as this food security package, where the DTN/PF team takes a holistic look at an issue, is often best taken in through the pages of a physical magazine. Creating a special-issue package like this is a bit like building the menu of a special feast. The very act of thinking through and combining the various ingredients and dishes makes the whole thing greater than a sum of its parts. The best way to experience it fully is to have it all on the table in front of you at one sitting.

This particular feast was the brainchild of the magazine's Editor in Chief Gregg Hillyer and shepherded through by Shein. The full meal deal, though, is due to a top-shelf collection of writers, photographers, graphic artists and editors.

Such feasts for the intellect are something that Progressive Farmer has come to master in its more than 137 years of production. A similar magazine package, Climate-Smart Farming, was just named a finalist in the prestigious Jesse H. Neal Awards. That package premiered in the November, 2022 issue, and it also can be found in our Magazine area online. We win our share of awards around here, but the Neals make us especially proud as we go up against some of the biggest names in business-to-business journalism. This year's Best Subject-Related submission, which looks at how agriculture is coping with the world's changing climate, will be judged against works by top publications in the automotive, electronic and financial worlds.

DTN and Progressive Farmer have a total of six finalists in the Neals competition this year: The categories included Best Single Article, Best Website, Best Art Direction for a Cover, Best Subject-Related package, Best Profile, and Best Podcast. Winners will be announced April 21 in New York City.

We hope you enjoy the look into the issues of food security, and insecurity. We think this one is a winner, too.

Greg D. Horstmeier can be reached at greg.horstmeier@dtn.com

Follow him on Twitter @greghorstmeier

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